CyerCruise Report Dateline: Half Moon Bay, Sept 17 2001 Note: This was the weekend after the blasts in New York and Washington. Thoughts from Dudley before the trip: CyberCruisers, What is the feeling about this weekend's planned trip to Half Moon Bay? Personally, I'd love to get away from the TV for a while to reflect on the events of this week, to carry the spirit of those we lost on the winds and currents of the ocean, and to give thanks that we still have the freedom to take to the sea. I'll know that life goes on when I'm back on the Pacific listening to Brudda Iz. dudley . And after the trip: From Dudley: It may have been small, but it was great. I got to spend the entire time with Ryan (we double-handed the whole way). We had some good sailing Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Charles is a trooper. dudley . From Teresa: Hi guys, Dudley forgot to say that I did drive over to HMB Saturday night. Had dinner with everybody. Charles is a trooper as he gave me a ride over to the raft-up and back to HMB Yacht Club later that evening. Ryan is turning into quite a sailor and loving it. Good bonding time for all. Take care, Teresa P.S. Virginia has been stuck in Boston and I hear that Tobreth is driving back home from New Jersey. I hope both are well and okay. Don't know if Virginia made it back yet... From Capt'n Downer: Hi, Virginia got back on Sunday after having a couple of flights at different airports canceled on her. She ended up flying back out of New York. It's good to have her safely home. Sorry we missed the raftup. -- Capt. Downer
Dateline: Halfmoon Bay, Sep 3 1996 The threatened coup of .5 Moon Bay Yacht Club failed to materialize as the invading marauders were met at the beachfront assault point with food and grog. The traditional beer mugs gave way to a communal beer jug. Some of the less adventurous ventured into town for a professional meal, but the bold among us, unaffected by the sight of a pig's skull bursting from its skin, hunkered down to a meal of pork, salad, potato (or rice), noodles, cake, cake, and cake. With any luck, the local Hobie fleet will sail again, and the sensitive eardrums of the locals will soon heal. Great weekend! Short on sunshine, but long on relaxation/recreation. After motoring out past the breakwater, we were able to sail all the way back to SF Marina by 1PM. Along the way, we were treated to a display of aerobatics by a bunch of seal lions. Not quite as exciting as the dolphins that followed us for a while on the way down, but it was interesting to see them having fun. Next cruise? November 9-10, Candlestick Cove, Dallas Cowboys vs. SF 49ers. Get ready for The Great Blimp Shot II. Dudley
So we spend 4 days motorsailing. Well, we did get some wind coming back into the bay on Sunday and down to Redwood City on Monday, but had to rush into GGYC harbor to beat the flotilla of race boats (J's, Olsens, SC's, Melges's among others) to the dock. Good thing we did too, since the docks soon filled up. Anyway, our trip went like this: Friday, motor sail up the bay - about 6 hours. Saturday, head out the Gate about 10 nm and motorsail down the coast. Crew all aboard, Mary, Wiley, Lauren(13), Joanne(17), Tristan (9 months), and Me. The winds were lite, we tried to sail several times but had a net speed of about 1.5 to 2 knots. Crew condition: Mary - very seasick, but coping, Wiley - very seasick and curled up on the cockpit bench, but responding to direct commands well, Lauren - seasick, but keeping it in, curled up against the lifeline netting, Joanne - upset stomach but handling it ok, Me - upset stomach but no time for the seasick nonsense. Arriving at HMB about 6 hours later,we drop anchor and try to get ourselves back together. The girls decide not to travel back up the coast and Mary arranges for transport to SF for Sunday. Sunday, Wiley and I take some sea sick medication and head out to sea. Crew condition, quite fine thank you very much. We see a 60 foot gray whale headed south about 50 yards off the beam, and lots of schools of seals feeding and frolicking in the swells. Motor sail most of the way back. Trip time about 5.5 hours. We end up in the middle of a race at the entrance to GGYC. These guys are racing up to the breakwater and tacking just before running aground on the rocks. But they are a mass of boats and we are in the pack on the same heading. One guy yells at us to fall off, but he can't see the boat on the other side of us pointing at us to head up... we just sail on and bear the "this sucks" comment from the racers. This is the only real sailing for the day. Monday, Wiley has decided to head back Sunday night by train. Maybe he couldn't take the family lifestyle on board. A bit like sailing a house I guess. Anyway, Mary and the kids are back aboard and we head out into the bay. We sail down to the bay bridge and are skunked by the city so we motor on and the winds really die. We alternately sail and motor sail with all sails up the rest of the way down the bay to Redwood City. About 6 hours trip time. No one is sea sick, but we still have to make contact with Joanne's ride back to her home in Sacramento. All and all, not one of my favorite trips. We need to do this again when the wind is blowing. Sounds like Dudley had a better trip back on Monday. Too bad we couldn't have stayed, but it's a bit much for the family to sail for 12 hours or so to make it in one day. I'll always remember the whale though. Downwind
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